The Effects of Gamification on Undergraduate Engineers' Public Speaking Anxiety and Competency
Abstract
This study sought to identify whether gamification practices affect public-speaking anxiety and public speaking competency of undergraduate engineers in a technical university. This study also aimed to determine the relationship between public speaking anxiety and public speaking competency. A class of 30 undergraduate engineers answered the Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety (PRPSA) to identify their public speaking anxiety levels. Sixteen students with the highest anxiety levels were selected to participate in the study. The study was conducted for ten weeks. Rhetoric–The Public Speaking Game was played weekly for one hour in each group of eight students as an intervention. Evaluations were performed before and after the intervention to provide empirical evidence on whether the gamification approach affected the public speaking competency levels of the participants. The T-test showed a significant decrease in the participants' public speaking anxiety after the intervention. Meanwhile, after the intervention, the participants showed a significant increase in their public speaking competency. There was also a significant negative linear correlation between public speaking anxiety and public speaking competency pre-intervention, but the effect was diminished post-intervention. The gamification approach effectively reduced anxiety and increased the competency of the participants of this study. This study also suggested that gamification might have improved students' confidence, making it possible to manage their anxiety.
Keywords: gamification, public speaking competency, public speaking anxiety, engineers, Rhetoric: Public Speaking Game.
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